Bengaluru: The state government has made it clear to the centre that Aadhar card cannot be made a pre-requiste for serving mid-day meals to eligible school students in the state.
The state Department of Primary and Secondary Education has written to the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD) stating that it cannot make it mandatory to provide Aadhaar number to avail mid-day meal or deny food to those children who have not enrolled for Aadhaar.
Human Resources Department (HRD) ministry had earlier written a letter to many states including Karnataka to make Aadhar mandatory for school students availing mid-day meals. The Union government’s intent was to ensure 100% Aadhar enrollment in the state. In their reply, the state government has responded with statistics.
According to them since only 75% of the students are enrolled under aadhar in the state, it will not be possible to implement HRD ministry’s proposal.